AutoMotion Blog

Fiat to Invest Billions to Take Jeep Brand Global

12/28/2012

In a report published by Automotive News, the Jeep brand will receive "a sweeping multibillion-dollar overhaul that will expand the product range (and) boost its overseas presence." The article claims that Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has said that every future Jeep model, except for the Wrangler, will be shared with Fiat, Alfa Romeo or Maserati, and that all Jeeps will be exported for sale around the world.Currently, Jeeps are sold in 120 different countries, accounting for approximately one-third of total annual Jeep sales. To facilitate the brand's growth, Fiat S.p.A. intends to add new models at the bottom and top of the current Jeep lineup by 2016.

In 2014, the Jeep Grand Cherokee is updated, gaining a new diesel engine option. A heavily modified version of the Grand Cherokee will be sold as the Maserati Levante. Also in 2014, a new compact Jeep/Fiat goes into production in Melfi, Italy, and will be exported to the United Sates. According to Automotive News, the rumored name for this model is Scamp.

In 2015, a new Grand Wagoneer model arrives, a 7-passenger version of the Grand Cherokee. The current Dodge Durango is a 7-passenger version of the Grand Cherokee, so transforming it into a Grand Wagoneer should be relatively simple. Rumors are circulating that the Durango will cease to exist when the Grand Wagoneer goes on sale.

A Jeep Liberty replacement is also slated to arrive for 2015, which will be built in a significantly upgraded Toledo, Ohio, assembly facility. Reports say the new SUV will be derived from the same Alfa Romeo platform that spawns the Alfa Romeo Giulietta and Dodge Dart, and the rumor is that the new model will revive the Cherokee nameplate.

Jeep is also set to replace its Compass and Patriot twins with a single model that is yet to be determined.